Thill-coupling.



PATENTED MAY 15,- 1906,

R. E. MILLER.

THILL COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 1905,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Q wvemtoz (WM 5 Z oL erfg/ fi /er No. 820,660. PATENTED MAY 15, 1906.

R. E. MILLER. THILL COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ba '6 lg snvewtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THlLL-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 1906.

Application filed July 25,1905. $erial No. 271,179.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT EDMUND MILLER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Russellville, in the county of Pope, State ofArkansas, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinThill-Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to thill-couplings.

One object of the invention is to provide an exceedingly simple,inexpensive, durable, light, and efficient thill-coupling.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of athill-coupling embodying such characteristics that rattling thereof ispositively prevented.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it beingunderstood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of my invention in position foruse. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section illustrating the relativeposition of the different parts in their unloosened position. Fig. 3 1sa top plan view. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the plate forpreventing movement of the draft-bolt. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of thespring. Fig. 6 is a modified form of plate for preventing movement ofthe draft-pole.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, thereference character 1 designates an axle, embracing which is the usualdraft-eye 2, provided with the outwardlydirected ears 3, having thealining perforations 4 in their ends, the legs 5 and 6 of the saiddraft-eye being screw-threaded.

This draft-eye 2 is secured to the axle l by means of a plate 7,provided with a perforation in each of its ends for engagement in thelegs 5 and 6 of the draft-eye, the said plate being disposed against theunder face of the axle 1 and held thereagainst by means of suitable nuts8 and 9.

In order to secure the shaft 9 in the ears 3, I provide the inner end ofthe shaft with a perforation and pass a draft-bolt- 10 through theaforesaid perforations 4 of the ears and the said perforation at theinner end of the shaft. This coupling-pin is provided with a pair ofalining notches 11 and 12 at its ends, which notches are disposedadjacent the outer face of the corresponding ears 3. To prevent turningof the draft-bolt 10, I provide a plate 13, having slotted ears 14 and15, directed upwardly at each end for engagement each with its slot inthe corresponding notches 11 and 12 of the coupling-pin. It will beunderstood that the plate 13 bears directly under the perforated innerend of the shaft 9, and reference to the drawings will disclose that ithas formed therewith intermediate its ends a clip 16, which is directedinwardly toward the axle and then bent backwardly toward the said plateand in spaced. relation thereto, as indicated by the reference character17 ,with its free end turned into or substantiallyinto engagement withthe plate. This clip 16 is designed to receive the slot 18 of the curvedspring 19, which has its inner lower end bifurcated, as at 20, toembrace the opposite edges of the said clip 16 in advance of theconnection of the latter with the aforesaid slot 18. This curved spring1 9 prevents rattling of the thill-coupling, and it will be observedthat in order to prevent this rattling action the spring is curved intoengagement with the rear of the shaft 9 and then toward and inengagement with the forward face of the draft-eye, as at 21, and thenoutwardly from the latter and over it, with its rear end provided withan eye 22, which is pierced by a pin 23, fitted in a pair of cars 24,which latter depend from the lever 25, the lever also having aperforation arranged at its end above the ears for the engagementtherein of a link 26, whose opposite end is bent, as at 27, whereby thebight portion 28 thereof which is opposite to the bight portion fittingin said perforation arranged for engagement behind the nut 8 of the leg5 of the draft-eye. The device illustrated in Fig. 1 is in its operativeposition, and when it is desired to uncouple the shaft from thedraft-eye it is simply necessary to raise the lever 25, whose ears 24,serving as a cam, will throw the said link 26 forwardly at its upper enduntil the lever has reached its full outward swing, when the bightportion 28 of the link 26 may be readily removed from behind the nut 8,such action releasing the said spring 19 of tension and permitting ofthe ready detachment of the spring from the aforesaid clip 16 and theears 14 and 15 of the said plate with the corresponding notches 11 and12 of the couplingpin 10, which latter may be readily removed from theears 3 to permit of the withdrawal of the shaft from between the latter.It is obvious that when it is desired to connect the shaft with thedraft-eye and prevent its rattling the operation just described isreversed. It will be noted that the cam-lever 25 is provided with a rib29 upon its under face for engagement with the rear end of the spring 19to hold the curved end 30 of the lever sufficiently far away from thespring to permit its ready engagement by ones hand for operation.

In Fig. 6 there is disclosed a somewhat different form of plate, whichmay be employed in substitution of the aforesaid plate 13. In thissecond form the plate 30is substantially of the same form as the plate13, including the oppositely-disposed ears 31 and 32 thereof. Thereforethe only difference resides in the peculiar form of clip for engagementwith the spring 19. In the first form the slot 18 of the spring 19 issprung into engagement with the clip 16, but in the second form the hook33 of the plate 30 is directed downwardly, as shown.

What is claimed is 1. A thill-coupling comprising a draft-eye providedWith spaced ears, a shaft disposed.

with its inner end between said ears, a bolt piercing said ears and saidshaft to secure the atter within the former, a plate having spaced earsfor connection with the respective ends of said bolt to prevent turningof the latter, the said plate having a projection intermediate its ends,a spring havin one end constructed and arranged for detachableengagement with said projection, a lever connected to the opposite endof the spring, and a support for the lever.

2. A thill-coupling comprising a draft-eye having spaced perforatedears, a bolt engaging the perforations of the ears, a plate havingslotted ears between which the ears of the eye are received and in theslots of which the ends of the bolt are held, such plate having adepending portion, a spring-plate bearing at one ,end against the underslde of the firstnamed plate and having an opening through which thedepending portion of the firstnamed plate is received, said spring-plateextending upwardly and over the draft-eye, and means for placing saidspring-plate under tension.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT EDMUND MILLER.

Witnesses:

J. C. FAULKNER, A. LEWIS SCHAEFFER.

